Gamey bridge blowing?

[Loeffe]

Whats general opinion blowing up bridges on defence, to prevent the enemy from crossing? Is it considered gamey tactics?

I know people will properbly say different things about this, idepending on the situation, so here's an outline of the scenario:

I'm playing a modified version of the "four bridges" scenario (found here http://home.iprimus.com.au/mudansha/maps.html). I play as Axis and must hold the big city, with a single bridge leading into it. I can also deploy reinforcements SE of the city, and try to make for the 3 other bridges, that are crossing the river south of the city, but my opponent starts closer to these. In addition to the 4 bridges, there are two shallow fords, that can be crossed, to the extreme south and extreme west of the map.

To make my defence of the city easier, I decidede to take out the single bridge leading into the city, and focus on holding the western and eastern flank of the city, while harassing all enenmy troops trying to cross the 3 bridges, to get to the city that way. My opponent clearly wasn't happy about this, and seemed to think it was unfair.

My own opinion is that since the bridge is under my control from the start of the game, I can blow it up if I want to. Also the scenario leaves 3 other bridges, which can be reached faster by my opponent than me, and a few fords as well.

Whats your take on bridge blowing as part of the tactics in general and in this situation?

[ April 03, 2005, 08:38 AM: Message edited by: Loeffe ]

[junk2drive]

Such is war. I am not happy when an artillery barrage spoils my attack plans. Should my opponent not use artillery?

What if the map designer had placed a blown bridge there? Refuse to play the map?

If there was no other way to cross the river and do battle it would be a stalemate. But you say there are other ways.

[flamingknives]

The map designer can prevent bridges being blown by using tall stone bridges, which are indestructible. If the bridge can be destroyed, then there's nothing wrong with doing so.

[Corvidae]

Just a note,,, No they are not!

tall stone bridges CAN be destroyed, but you need 2 full platoons of pioneers to do it,,

[Philippe]

Blowing bridges in CM isn't gamey. What is gamey is that you often can't blow a bridge when you're supposed to be able to in real life (especially in CMBO).

Napoleon resorted to gamey tactics and blew a bridge over the Elster in 1813. Ever since tactical discussions of the event have revolved around question of when, and not whether, the bridge should have been blown.

You often see comments to the effect that it is irresponsible for an engineer not to blow a defended bridge, unless he's got an overwhelmingly important reason for letting it stand (e.g. Marshall Poniatowski needs to retreat across it to get out of Leipzig alive).

So unless there's an explicit prohibition against destruction by the scenario designer, it's probably ludicrous to call such an elementary tactic gamey.

I make this post with great trepidation, because I'm currently the attacker in a bridge crossing scenario, and am hoping this doesn't give my opponent any ideas. He seems to have left the bridges intact to encourage me to run into his minefields. I'd try the fords, but it's so damp I'd probably lose a couple of tanks to the mud.

[walpurgis nacht]

Yeah I'd tend to agree with most of you that bridge blowing, if possible, isn't gamey. The problem is that there is some real **** scenario design out there . . . so they neglect to use the heavy bridge, or at least mention in the briefing that "no player may blow the bridge".

I had a buddy in the ROWIV tourney who made it to the finals. In one of his final's scenarios he was attacking over a bridge. His opponent blew the bridge on turn 1 and his attack ended right then and there, before it even began. In that turn his chance of winning the finals also disappeared. I for one would have withdrawn right then and there, but he was a bigger man than I and played it out.

[Cannon-fodder]

In a game I'm playing at the moment a bridge has been blown up - but by accident here. Also, bridges are often quite useful to tunnel the enemy into killzones.

[Brent Pollock]

...and if there's more than one bridge, blowing some up will tighten the killzone.